Newly re-elected Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, is calling for an investigation into issues that occurred during Harris County’s 2022 general election on Nov. 8. Abbott claimed county voters experienced confusion following delays due to missing keys and paper ballot shortages he alleges happened only in Republican precincts, staffing problems and more during last week’s election. 

Abbott wants the Secretary of State, the Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Rangers to investigate so voters can “know what happened” since “integrity in the election process is essential.”

The Harris County Republican Party  has filed a 20-page lawsuit in state district court against Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum and county government over the voting issues. The party’s legal counsel Andy Taylor alleged that double voting may have occurred and that election workers did not segregate provisional ballots that were cast after 7 p.m. in accordance with a court order that extended voting hours in the county to 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. 

“I believe that the evidence is going to demonstrate countless illegal acts by administrator Tatum in this election,” Taylor said. “I want to say to him and Harris County, the actual governmental body, if you really believe that you didn’t cheat, if you believe you didn’t violate the law, then participate in the investigation.” 

Tatum has been under fire over issues that cropped up at multiple county polling locations, including delayed openings, malfunctioning equipment and more than 20 polling locations running out of paper ballots. The issues led to the closure of at least one voting location and prompted the Harris County GOP to advise voters to avoid 23 polling locations they stated did not have enough ballot paper. Voting hours were also extended in Harris County to 8 p.m. on election night. 

Taylor also told reporters that the lawsuit could open the possibility for candidates who lost by a narrow margin to request a new vote to take place. “I believe that based on the evidence in this case you cannot tell the true outcome of this race,” he said. “You just cannot ascertain it because there’s so many mistakes and so what the law says in that regard? New election.”